Method of forming nail clip



Sept. 26, 1967 R. B. DICKSON 3,344,008

METHOD OF FORMING NAIL CLIP Original Filed Nov. 5, 1963 I 2 Sheets-Sheet1 v HANDLE e POWER P'OWER CYLINDER j HAMMER r w POWER NAILER I /NAIL SET;/PISTON BARREL I INVENTOR ROBERT B. DICKSON P 6, 967 R. a. DICKSON3,344,008

METHOD OF FORMING NAIL CHIP I 7 Original Filed Nov. 5, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Y INVENTOR. ROBERT a. DICKZN United States Patent3,344,908 METHOD OF FOG NAIL CLIP Robert B. Dickson, Evmston, 111.,assignor to Dickson Weatherproof Nail Company, Evanston, Ill., acorporation of Delaware Original application Nov. 5, 1963, Ser. No.321,450, now Patent No. 3,212,633, dated Oct. 19, 1965. Divided and thisapplication May 28, 1965, Ser. No. 459,558

7 Claims. (Cl. 156-296) The present invention is a division ofapplication Serial No. 321,450, filed November 5, 1963, now Patent No.3,212,633 and relates to power driven nailing equipment and to thehandling of nails, particularly common nails, both loose and in clipsfor feeding the nails to an automatic hammer.

Power equipped devices have been used for many years for driving nailsand brads. Many problems have beset the industry requiring the provisionof special nails and magazines inclined to the driving barrel. Expensivestrips, wire, webbing or adhesive tapes have been restored to in orderto space the nail shanks and maintain the nail heads in coplanarrelationship for straight line feed applications.

An object of the invention resides in handling common nails havingsingle, double or cabinet heads in clips of ten nails which arecompactly shipped and easily managed for a gun taking up to fifty nailsat one loading, yet the gun can be quickly loaded fully or in part withany common or headed nail one at a time if desired or necessary.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, power drivennailer of the repeating type embodying a novel magazine which is easilyloaded with clips of nails or independent nails individually or ingroups, with the magazine either readily replaceable, or quicklyrechargeable without removal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a resting status for apower nailer which prevents movement of the next nail from the magazineinto the driving chamber until after actuation of the device whereuponrelease is immediately accomplished followed instantly by the first of aseries of nail driving hammer blows with continuous contact beingmaintained between the nail and the driving element struck by thehammer.

Another object resides in providing a magazine construction whichhandles all common nails as well as many special nails in a lineal spaceno longer than the sum total of the nail shank diameters loaded in themagazine.

A further object of the invention resides in maintaining the shankportions of common nails in contact with one another in a magazinewhereby nail feed movement to a driving element may be accomplished byforces applied remotely from the driving element as at the entry end ofthe magazine.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the description whichfollows and the drawings related thereto in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view partly in section taken longitudinallyand centrally through a portable power nailer embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view partly in section of the nail clip formembodying the invention as packaged with the clips in nestedrelationship, and

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of an apparatus by which the nailclips embodying the invention are produced.

The invention is illustrated in connection with the nails that are mostused. Such is the common nail that ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 inches inlength and the nail 19 particularly disclosed is an eightpenny commonnail approximately 2.5 inches long with a wire shank diameter ofdfiddfihh Patented Sept. 26, 1967 .13 inch and head diameter of .28inch. For ready handling the nails are arranged in clips 12 of ten nailseach (FIG. 2) in which the shanks 14 contact a little elf-center theirmidpoint in a straight line 16 sometimes referred to herein as an axisand the heads 18 contact edge-to-edge at their periphery in a helicalpath with their top surfaces 20 defining a cylindrical surface ofrevolution 22.

Although both contacting areas may be adhered with a frangible cement 30(FIG. 3), it has been found that adherence at the center contacts of thenail shanks is adequate.

The helix angle is one of approximately 35 and although the clips may beformed to a full helical turn or any part of a full turn, it ispreferred to furnish them in units of ten nails each. This provides alittle less than a turn as shown in FIG. 2. The heads are about twicethe diameter of the shank. In this size and number they are easy tocount, assemble, handle and package. The clips nest with each other andpack fiat side by side with the center lines 16 spaced and parallel witheach other (FIG. 2). Shorter nails down to 1.5 inch in length can beformed on the same helix but the shanks would contact nearer the pointends 24 of the nail, the heads 18 remaining in the same helical path.

In forming the clips a collector 26 (FIG. 3) defining a correspondinghelical track is fed with oriented nails at the upper end from a hopper28. The heads enter a T- slot or groove of the track along the helixangle mentioned, and in advancing to the bottom the helicalconfiguration is imposed on them of several turns leaving the shanks 14exposed laterally where they contact at the center line 16 of the helix.On their way down the center contacting portions of the shanks areprovided with an adhesive 30 which is quickly dried with applied heatfrom an infra red lamp 34 to a brittel consistency. The lower end of thehelix rests on an elevator 36 and a knife 38 cuts off the lower tennails from the assembly as a unitary clip.

Two collectors preferably are employed together on a single loadingline, or one is rotated each cut, so that the clips interdigitate withheads alternately opposite as the clips nest laterally and move aspackage assemblies (FIG. 2) into rectangular packages 40 that are aswide as the nails are long, as thick as the axial height of the clips atthe contacting nail heads, and as long as needed to accommodate ten,twenty or thirty nested clips 12 as desired. The alternate reversal ofthe head ends results in each clip head end portion being interdigitatedor nested between the pointed ends of the nail clips adjacent thereto.

When received ready for use, the flap 41 of the package 46 is opened atthe end and the nested clips are slid therefrom to be dropped one by oneinto a helical nail feeder magazine 42 (FIG. 1) having a helical feedertrack 44 in which the nails are advanced by a follower 46 at the entryend to a working position 48 where the nails are severad one at a timeand driven into a workpiece 50. With factory nailing machines the clipscan be fed automatically. The package can be end opened and the clipsdropped straight away one by one into a passageway in which the clipsare oriented all ends alike for entrance into a helical feed magazine asa continuous helix of nails. The passageway catches the wider overallaxial height of the clip at the head portion and turns each alternateclip into oriented position.

With portable power tools such as shown at 52 in FIG. 1, the clips canbe hand inserted one or more at a time into the track 44 in magazine 42.The magazine Will take at least four clips, preferably six to eight.Four clips will supply a magazine of 40 nails and six to seven inchmagazine provides a starting charge of half a hundred nails plus anypartially used clip already present.

Moreover, it will be appreciated from the description herein that loosecommon nails can also be fed into the magazine 42 if desired at any timeas a group or intermingled between clips.

The helically shaped track 44 is similar to track 26 and peripherallysupported in the tubular housing to receive nail clips 14 in helicallyaligned and guiding relationship. The plan contour of the nail adjacentto and including the head 18 (FIG. 6) is approximated in thecrosssectional contour of the track and preferably is defined by anelongated element having a T-groove 86 therein, the element preferablyis rolled from straight stock like a helical spring into a helix inwhich the head portion 88 of the groove defines a helical lead angle ofapproximately and the space between the legs 90 of the T- groove definea helix angle of or more, leaving approximately one-third to one-half ofthe length of the nail shank 14 exposed at the center of the tubularhousing 54. If a 2.5 inch nail is fed, a third of the center portion ofthe shank will be exposed. It a 1.5 inch nail is fed, it will be theterminal portion of the shank that is exposed. If the nail heads 18 aretwice the diameter or more of the shank 14, the head helix angle will be35 or less accordingly. If the heads 13 are less than twice the diameterof the shank 14, a magazine and helix of 35 will still take the nailswith the clip provided with a 35 helix angle.

The track can be formed in a continuous process with radially directedpairs of turning rollers and axially directed twisting rollers operatingagainst a radially directed flange roller canted to the helix angle ofthe mouth of the track.

Although the track 44 can serve as an interchangeable assembly clipcomponent, it preferably is secured to the inner wall 56 of the tubularmember 54 and the outer mouth of the track 44 is shaped to only receivethe heads of the nail clip. The feed follower 46 slides in and is guidedon the inner edges of the track where the helix angie is 45 or more,thereby providing a favorable angle for advancing the nails withpressure at the clip areas 16. Other bracing elements (not shown) may beprovided as needed to rigidity the assembly.

Thus, even it loose nails are employed, the nails are held in crossedrelation at the axis 16 of the compartment 56 as guided by the sidewalls of the track and the angle of the helix which permits the nailheads to clear themselves in a spiral direction without any endwisemovement of individual nails. Finishing nails in clip form can also beused because the adhesive as well as the fanned-out relationship of thehead portions hold the nails in proper orientation.

It is highly desirable that the magazine be kept free from outsidecontamination and for this reason it is made completely sealed exceptfor when loading.

While common nails are disclosed in the drawing and the descriptionrelating thereto it will be understood that any form of nail having ahead diameter larger than the shank can be handled by devices embodyingthe invention, including spikes, roofing nails, brads, finishing nails,etc., and further that frangible bonds other than cement can be employedincluding plating material, soft wires fused thereon, or tapes, providedthey hold the shanks in contact with each other where they cross.

Having thus disclosed and described the invention, it will be readilyapparent how the stated objects and other objects and advantages setforth are accomplished and how various and further changes can be madetherein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope ofwhich is commensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of forming a nail clip comprising fanning out a series ofnails in coaxial helicies in which the head ends define one helix andthe nail points define the other helix with the nail shanks crossing incontact with each other at the axis of the helices, applying adhesive tothe nail shanks along said axis, drying the adhesive to hold said nailsin cohesive form and cutting said form into clip segments of apredetermined number of nails per clip.

2. The method called for in claim 1 in which the clip segments are lessthan an obtuse angle and said helix of the nail points beingsubstantially smaller initially than the radius of said head and helix.

3. The method of forming a nail clip comprising fan ning out a series ofcommon nails with their heads in edge to edge contact and their shankscrossing in contact with each other intermediate their ends, applyingadhesive to the nail shanks where they cross and drying the adhesive tohold said nails in frangible form where they cross in contact 4. Themethod called for in claim 3 in which the clip has approximately tennails in it defining less than an obtuse angle of a helix at theirheads.

5. The method of forming a nail clip comprising inducing the heads of aseries of nails to occupy a helical path with their heads in edge toedge contact and their shanks contacting at the axis of said helicalpath, applying cement adhesive to the nail shanks along said axis, anddrying the adhesive to hold said nails in cohesive form.

6. The method called for in claim 5 in which the clip segments areassembled under gravity with their heads supported in a helical guidedirecting the shanks of the nails into crossing engagement with eachother.

7. The method of forming a nail clip comprising guiding the heads of aseries of common nails along a helical path in edge to edge contact anddisposing the nail shanks in crossing contact with each other at theaxis of the helix, and releasably holding the shanks of the nails inengagement with each other along said axis.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,909,781 10/1959 Ollig et al20656 3,165,868 1/1965 McDonald et a1 5335 3,303,632 2/1967 Halstead53l40 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

R. L. FARRIS, Assistant Examiner,

1. THE METHOD OF FORMING A NAIL CLIP COMPRISING FANNING OUT A SERIES OFNAILS IN COAXIAL HELICIES IN WHICH THE HEAD ENDS DEFINE ONE HELIX ANDTHE NAIL POINTS DEFINE THE OTHER HELIX WITH THE NAIL SHANKS CROSSING INCONTACT WITH EACH OTHER AT THE AXIS OF THE HELICES, APPLYING ADHESIVE TOTHE NAIL SHANKS ALONG SAID AXIS, DRYING THE ADHESIVE TO HOLD SAID NAILSIN COHESIVE FORM AND CUTTING SAID FORM INTO CLIP SEGMENTS OF APREDETERMINED NUMBER OF NAILS PER CLIP.